49136 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 28, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the May 24, 2007, meeting 

was a public meeting and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express views on the budget and 

assessment rate issues. 

This rule imposes no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on either small or large Washington 

apricot handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. Furthermore, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this rule. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

A proposed rule regarding this action 

was published in the Federal Register 

on July 13, 2007 (72 FR 38496). Copies 

of the proposed rule were made 

available to industry members by the 

Committee, and by the USDA and the 

Office of the Federal Register through 

the Internet. A 10-day comment period 

ending July 23, 2007, was provided for 

interested persons to respond to the 

proposal. No comments were received. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

fv/moab.html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendation 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, it is hereby found 

that this rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) The 2007–2008 fiscal 

period began on April 1, 2007, and the 

order requires that the assessment rate 

for each fiscal period apply to all 

assessable apricots handled during such 

fiscal period; (2) the Washington apricot 

harvest and shipping season is currently 

under way; (3) the Committee needs to 

have sufficient funds to pay its 

expenses, which are incurred on a 

continuous basis; (4) handlers are aware 

of this action, which was recommended 

by the Committee at a public meeting 

and is similar to other assessment rate 

actions issued in past years; and (5) a 

10-day comment period was provided 

for in the proposed rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 922 

Apricots, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 922 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 922—APRICOTS GROWN IN 

DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN 

WASHINGTON 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 922 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 922.235 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 922.235 Assessment rate. 

On or after April 1, 2007, an 

assessment rate of $1.50 per ton is 

established for the Washington Apricot 

Marketing Committee. 

Dated: August 22, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–16971 Filed 8–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 959 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–06–0214; FV07–959–

1 FIR] 

Onions Grown in South Texas; Change 

in Regulatory Period 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule revising the regulatory period 

for minimum grade, size, quality, and 

maturity requirements applicable to 

onions grown in South Texas under 

Marketing Order No. 959 (order). Prior 

to implementation of the interim final 

rule, the regulatory period for South 

Texas onions was March 1 through June 

4 of each year. Changes in available 

varieties, growing seasons, and 

marketing opportunities over the years 

have resulted in a prolonged onion 

shipping season that now extends 

beyond June 4 into mid-July. This rule 

continues in effect the action that 

extended the regulatory period through 

July 15. The South Texas Onion 

Committee (Committee), which locally 

administers the order, unanimously 

recommended the change. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 27, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Belinda G. Garza, Regional Manager, 

Texas Marketing Field Office, Marketing 

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (956) 682–2833, Fax: (956) 

682–5942, or E-mail: 

Belinda.Garza@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 143 and Order No. 959, both as 

amended (7 CFR part 959), regulating 

the handling of onions grown in South 

Texas, hereinafter referred to as the 

‘‘order.’’ The order is effective under the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674), 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’

USDA is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. This rule will 

not preempt any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any 

handler subject to an order may file 

with USDA a petition stating that the 

order, any provision of the order, or any 

obligation imposed in connection with 

the order is not in accordance with law 

and request a modification of the order 

or to be exempted therefrom. A handler 

is afforded the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. After the hearing USDA 

would rule on the petition. The Act 

provides that the district court of the 

United States in any district in which 

the handler is an inhabitant, or has his 

or her principal place of business, has 

jurisdiction to review USDA’s ruling on 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 28, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 49137 

the petition, provided an action is filed 

not later than 20 days after the date of 

the entry of the ruling. 

This action, which was unanimously 

recommended by the Committee, 

continues in effect the action that 

extended the regulatory period when 

minimum grade, size, quality, and 

maturity requirements apply to onions 

grown under the order in South Texas. 

Under the terms of the order, fresh 

market shipments of onions grown in a 

35-county production area in South 

Texas were, prior to implementation of 

the interim final rule, subject to 

handling regulations during the period 

March 1 through June 4 of each year. 

According to the Committee, changes in 

available varieties, growing seasons, and 

marketing opportunities over the years 

have resulted in a prolonged onion 

shipping season that extended beyond 

June 4 into mid-July. Because the 

previous regulatory period did not cover 

the production season completely, not 

all onion shipments occurring after June 

4 were subject to order requirements. 

According to USDA Market News 

data, 40 percent of South Texas onions 

shipped in 2005 from District 2, or 

roughly 11 percent of total shipments 

for the production area, occurred after 

June 4. In 2006, 30 percent of onions 

shipped from District 2, or 

approximately 10 percent of total 

shipments for the production area, were 

shipped after June 4. 

Section 959.110 of the order’s rules 

and regulations apportions the 35 

counties between two onion-growing 

areas known as District 1, designated as 

the Coastal Bend-Lower Valley area, and 

District 2, designated as the LaredoWinter Garden area. District 1 is 

comprised of the counties of Victoria, 

Calhoun, Goliad, Refugio, Bee, Live 

Oak, San Patricio, Aransas, Jim Wells, 

Nueces, Kleberg, Brooks, Kenedy, 

Duval, McMullen, Cameron, Hidalgo, 

Starr, and Willacy. District 2 includes 

the counties of Zapata, Webb, Jim Hogg, 

De Witt, Wilson, Atascosa, Karnes, Val 

Verde, Frio, Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, 

Maverick, Zavala, Dimmit, and LaSalle. 

Section 959.52(b) of the order 

provides authority to limit the handling 

of any grade, size, quality, maturity, or 

pack of onions within the production 

area during any period. Section 959.322 

outlines the regulatory requirements 

authorized under § 959.52(b). Such 

grade requirements are based on the 

U.S. Standards for Grades of BermudaGranex-Grano Type Onions (7 CFR part 

51.3195–3212), or the U.S. Standards for 

Grades of Onions (Other than BermudaGranex-Grano and Creole Types) (7 CFR 

part 51.2830–2854). 

Currently, these handling regulations 

provide that shipments may not exceed 

20 percent defects of U.S. No. 1 grade. 

In percentage grade lots, tolerances for 

serious damage shall not exceed 10 

percent including not more than 2 

percent decay. Double the lot tolerance 

is permitted in individual packages in 

percentage grade lots. Applications of 

tolerances in U.S. onion standards apply 

to in-grade lots. 

Minimum size requirements for 

different size designations are outlined 

in the regulations. Specifically, for 

white onions only, the minimum 

diameter is 1 inch to 21⁄4 inches 

maximum diameter. For other than 

white onions, the minimum diameter 

for repacker onions is 13⁄4 inches to 3 

inches maximum with 60 percent or 

more 2 inches in diameter or larger, 2 

to 31⁄2 inches for medium, 3 inches or 

larger for jumbo or large onions, and 33⁄4

inches or larger for colossal. 

The regulations further specify that 

tolerances for size in the U.S. onion 

standards shall apply except that for 

repacker and medium sizes, not more 

than 20 percent, by weight, of onions in 

any lot may be larger than the maximum 

diameter specified. 

The previous South Texas regulatory 

period during which the 

aforementioned regulations were in 

effect ran from March 1 through June 4, 

annually. A final rule published on May 

17, 1996 (61 FR 24877), established that 

regulatory period to promote the orderly 

marketing of onions. 

Extending the end date of the 

regulatory period from June 4 to July 15 

each year provides the consumer with 

quality onions for a longer period of 

time because the entire production area 

will be regulated throughout its 

shipping period. Normally, South Texas 

onion handlers continued to voluntarily 

request inspection of their onions after 

June 4 to ensure product quality past the 

previous regulatory period. Because the 

industry was already voluntarily having 

their onions inspected, the extension is 

not expected to negatively impact the 

industry and this change aligns order 

requirements with actual industry 

operations. 

Collecting assessments for an 

additional five weeks provides the 

Committee with additional assessment 

revenue. Based on USDA Market News 

shipment 2005 data, an additional 

1,086,600 fifty-pound equivalent cartons 

would have been assessed if the 

extended regulatory period had been in 

effect. At the current assessment rate of 

$0.02 per carton, this amount would 

have generated an additional $21,732 in 

assessment revenue. Similarly, Market 

News data for 2006 indicates that an 

additional 863,400 cartons would have 

been assessed between June 4 and July 

15, and would have resulted in $17,268 

of additional assessment revenue. 

The additional revenue collected as a 

result of an extended regulatory period 

in 2007 allows the Committee to further 

promote onions and conduct more 

research projects, making it 

advantageous to the industry as well as 

the consumer. All producers will realize 

a better return for a quality pack through 

research and market development 

projects funded by the collection of 

assessments through July 15. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

has considered the economic impact of 

this action on small entities. 

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this 

final regulatory flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

business subject to such actions so that 

small businesses will not be unduly or 

disproportionately burdened. Marketing 

orders issued pursuant to the Act, and 

the rules issued thereunder, are unique 

in that they are brought about through 

group action of essentially small entities 

acting on their own behalf. Thus, both 

statutes have small entity orientation 

and compatibility. Small agricultural 

growers have been defined by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 

121.201) as those having annual receipts 

of less than $750,000. Small agricultural 

service firms are defined as those with 

annual receipts of less than $6,500,000. 

There are approximately 114 

producers of onions in the production 

area and approximately 38 handlers 

subject to regulation under the order. 

Most of the handlers are vertically 

integrated corporations involved in 

producing, shipping, and marketing 

onions. For the 2005–06 marketing year, 

the industry’s 38 handlers shipped 

onions produced on 17,694 acres with 

the average and median volume handled 

being 182,148 and 174,437 fifty-pound 

equivalents, respectively. In terms of 

production value, total revenues for the 

38 handlers were estimated to be $44.2 

million, with average and median 

revenues being $1.6 million and $1.12 

million, respectively. 

The South Texas onion industry is 

characterized by producers and 

handlers whose farming operations 

generally involve more than one 

commodity, and whose income from 

farming operations is not exclusively 

dependent on the production of onions. 

Alternative crops provide an 

opportunity to utilize many of the same 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
49138 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 28, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

facilities and equipment not in use 

when the onion production season is 

complete. For this reason, typical onion 

producers and handlers either produce 

multiple crops or alternate crops within 

a single year. 

Based on the SBA’s definition of 

small entities, the Committee estimates 

that all of the 38 handlers regulated by 

the order would be considered small 

entities if only their onion revenues are 

considered. However, revenues from 

other productive enterprises would 

likely push a number of these handlers 

above the $6,500,000 annual receipt 

threshold. All of the 114 producers may 

be classified as small entities based on 

the SBA definition if only their revenue 

from onions is considered. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that extended the end date of the 

order’s regulatory period from June 4 to 

July 15 of each year for Texas onions 

shipped to the fresh market. This action, 

which was unanimously recommended 

by the Committee, continues in effect 

the action that extended the regulatory 

period when minimum grade, size, 

quality, and maturity requirements 

apply to onions grown under the order. 

Authorization to implement such 

regulations is provided in § 959.52(b) of 

the order. Regulatory requirements 

authorized under this section are 

provided in § 959.322. 

This action provides that fresh onion 

shipments from the entire South Texas 

onion production area will meet all 

order requirements from March 1 

through July 15 of each year. Prior to 

implementation of the interim final rule, 

the regulations required that onions 

grown in the production area meet order 

requirements from March 1 through 

June 4 of each year. 

According to the Committee, changes 

in available varieties, growing seasons, 

and marketing opportunities over the 

years have resulted in a prolonged 

onion shipping season that extended 

beyond June 4 into mid-July. Because 

the previous regulatory period did not 

cover the production season completely, 

not all onion shipments occurring after 

June 4 were subject to mandatory 

inspection under the order. Extending 

the regulatory period ensures that all 

South Texas onions will be inspected to 

order specifications. 

Prior to implementation of the interim 

final rule, many South Texas onion 

handlers voluntarily requested 

inspection of their onions after June 4 to 

ensure product quality. Because the 

industry was already voluntarily having 

their onions inspected, the extension is 

not expected to negatively impact the 

industry and this change aligns order 

requirements with present day industry 

operations. 

According to USDA Market News 

data, 40 percent of South Texas onions 

shipped in 2005 from District 2, or 

roughly 11 percent of total shipments 

for the production area, occurred after 

June 4. In 2006, 30 percent of onions 

shipped from District 2, or 

approximately 10 percent of total 

shipments for the production area, were 

shipped after June 4. 

This action is also expected to 

support Committee promotional and 

research activities and benefit 

consumers. The Committee has 

indicated that collecting assessments for 

an additional five weeks will provide 

them with additional assessment 

revenue. 

Based on USDA Market News 

shipment 2005 data, an additional 

1,086,600 fifty-pound equivalent cartons 

would have been assessed if the 

extended regulatory period had then 

been in effect. At the current assessment 

rate of $0.02 per carton, this amount 

would have generated an additional 

$21,732 in assessment revenue. 

Similarly, Market News data for 2006 

indicates that an additional 863,400 

cartons would have been assessed 

between June 4 and July 15, 2006, and 

would have resulted in $17,268 of 

additional assessment revenue. 

The additional revenue allows the 

Committee to further promote onions 

and conduct more research projects, 

making it advantageous to the industry 

as well as the consumer. All producers 

will realize a better return for a quality 

pack through research and market 

development projects funded by the 

collection of assessments through July 

15. 

The additional five weeks of 

assessment collection is not expected to 

significantly burden South Texas onion 

handlers. A burden calculation of the 

additional assessments that would have 

been collected in 2006 if the regulatory 

period had been in effect for that season 

indicates that the additional assessment 

payments by handlers would have 

equaled 0.039 percent of the total of 

2006 production value [($17,268/$44.2 

million) × 100 = 0.039]. Total 2006 

revenues for the 38 handlers were 

estimated to be $44.2 million, with 

average and median revenues being $1.6 

million and $1.12 million, respectively. 

Extending the end date of the 

regulatory period from June 4 to July 15 

each year will also provide the 

consumer with quality onions for a 

longer period of time because the entire 

production area will be regulated 

throughout its shipping period. 

One alternative to this action would 

have been to not extend the regulatory 

period beyond the prior end date of June 

4. However, the Committee believed 

that not extending the regulatory period 

would have resulted in a significant 

portion of the South Texas onion crop 

not being consistently regulated. 

While most handlers were extending 

inspection beyond the June 4 regulatory 

deadline on a voluntary basis, such 

inspection was not required. By 

extending the regulatory period, such 

inspection became mandatory. 

Mandatory inspection ensures orderly 

marketing of all South Texas onions 

since all handlers and product will be 

required to fulfill the same inspection 

requirements and product standards 

under the order for the entire 

production period. Therefore, USDA 

determined that the end date of the 

regulatory period for South Texas 

onions should be extended from June 4 

to July 15. 

While this action will impose some 

additional costs on South Texas onion 

handlers and producers, the costs are 

expected to be minimal, and will be 

offset by the benefits of the action. The 

Committee believes that this 

modification benefits consumers, 

producers, and handlers. The benefits of 

this action are not expected to be 

disproportionately greater or lesser for 

small entities than for large entities. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

onion handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. In addition, as noted in 

the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

The AMS is committed to complying 

with the E-Government Act, to promote 

the use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

Further, the Committee’s meeting was 

widely publicized throughout the South 

Texas onion industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations. All Committee meetings 

were public meetings and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express their views. Furthermore, 

interested persons were invited to 

submit information on the regulatory 

and informational impacts of this action 

on small businesses. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 28, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 49139 

An interim final rule concerning this 

action was published in the Federal 

Register on May 7, 2007. Copies of the 

rule were mailed by the Committee’s 

staff to all Committee members, onion 

handlers, and interested persons. In 

addition, the rule was made available 

through the Internet by USDA and the 

Office of the Federal Register. That rule 

provided for a 60-day comment period 

which ended July 6, 2007. No comments 

were received. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

fv/moab.html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that extended the regulatory 

period under the South Texas onion 

marketing order. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that 

finalizing the interim final rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (72 FR 25677, May 7, 2007) 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 959 

Onions, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 959—ONIONS GROWN IN 

SOUTH TEXAS 

Accordingly, the interim final rule 

amending 7 CFR part 959 which was 

published at 72 FR 25677 on May 7, 

2007, is adopted as a final rule without 

change. 

Dated: August 21, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–4162 Filed 8–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–M 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Parts 1, 2, 13 and 110 

RIN 3150—AH74 

Use of Electronic Submissions in 

Agency Hearings 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is amending its 

regulations to require the use of 

electronic submissions in all agency 

hearings, consistent with the existing 

practice for the high-level radioactive 

waste repository application (which is 

covered under a separate set of 

regulations). The amendments require 

the electronic transmission of electronic 

documents in submissions made to the 

NRC’s adjudicatory boards. Although 

exceptions to these requirements are 

established to allow paper filings in 

limited circumstances, the NRC 

maintains a strong preference for fully 

electronic filing and service. The rule 

builds upon prior NRC rules and 

developments in the Federal courts 

regarding the use of electronic 

submissions. 

DATES: Effective date: This final rule 

will become effective October 15, 2007. 

Applicability date: This final rule will 

apply only to new proceedings noticed 

on or after that date. For any proceeding 

noticed before that effective date, filings 

may be submitted via the E-Filing 

system, but only after this rule’s 

effective date and upon agreement of all 

participants and the presiding officer. 

ADDRESSES: This final rule and any 

related documents are available on the 

NRC’s interactive rulemaking Web site 

at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. For 

information about the interactive 

rulemaking site, contact Carol Gallagher, 

telephone (301) 415–5905, e-mail 

CAG@nrc.gov. Publicly available NRC 

documents related to this final rule can 

also be viewed on public computers 

located at the NRC’s Public Document 

Room (PDR), located at O–1F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR 

reproduction contractor will make 

copies of documents for a fee. 

Publicly available documents created 

or received at the NRC after November 

1, 1999, are available electronically at 

the NRC’s Electronic Reading Room 

currently located at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. 

From this site, the public can gain 

entry into the NRC’s Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management 

System (ADAMS), which provides text 

and image files of NRC’s public 

documents. If you do not have access to 

ADAMS or if there are problems in 

accessing the documents located in 

ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR 

Reference staff at 1(800) 397–4209, (301) 

415–4737, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darani Reddick, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, telephone (301) 415–3841, e-mail 

dmr1@nrc.gov, or Steven Hamrick, 

Office of the General Counsel, telephone 

(301) 415–4106, e-mail sch1@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Overview of the Final Rule 

III. Comments on the Proposed Rule 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of 

Substantive Changes 

V. Voluntary Consensus Standards 

VI. Environmental Impact: Categorical 

Exclusion 

VII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

VIII. Regulatory Analysis 

IX. Regulatory Flexibility Certification 

X. Backfit Analysis 

XI. Congressional Review Act 

I. Background 

On December 16, 2005 (70 FR 74950), 

the NRC published a proposed rule, EFiling, to require that submissions in 

any adjudicatory hearing governed by 

10 CFR part 2, Subpart C, part 13, or 

part 110 be made electronically. NRC’s 

Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a 

component of the E-Filing system, 

permits users to make electronic 

submissions to the agency in a secure 

manner using digital signature 

technology to authenticate documents 

and validate the identity of the person 

submitting the information. Upon 

receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing 

system time-stamps documents 

transmitted to the NRC and sends the 

submitter an e-mail notice confirming 

receipt of the documents. 

In crafting the rule, the NRC relied 

upon its past experience with electronic 

submissions and also examined Federal 

court practices. These experiences are 

derived from the ‘‘Electronic 

Maintenance and Submission of 

Information’’ final rule (‘‘E-Rule’’), 

issued October 10, 2003 (68 FR 58792), 

and the 10 CFR part 2, Subpart J 

procedures for electronic filing in highlevel waste proceedings. The NRC also 

looked to the use of electronic filing by 

Federal courts. E-Filing adopts some 

technical and procedural provisions 

nearly verbatim from the E-Rule, 10 CFR 

part 2, Subpart J, and the procedures 

adopted by the Federal courts. 

The E-Filing rule is accompanied by 

Guidance for Electronic Submissions to 

the NRC (Guidance), a guidance 

document that is currently available at 

http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html. This guidance 

document consolidates previous 

guidance set forth for electronic 

submittal of information to the agency, 

and sets forth the technical standards 

for electronic transmission and for 

formatting electronic documents as well 

as instructions on how to obtain and use 


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